1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an assembling structure which ensures the waterproofness of a housing and a connector in such as an electronic control unit (ECU) for automobile use, for example.
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-78010, which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional structure for assembling a housing and a connector disclosed in unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. JPA-10-172643.
In this assembling structure, when a connector 2 is assembled to a housing 1, a projection 3 of the connector 2 is inserted in an opening 5 of the housing 1 in a state in which an annular seal member 4 is fitted around an outer periphery of the projection 3 on the connector 2 side. In this state, as the connector 2 is screwed to the housing 1, the gap between the housing 1 and the connector 2 is sealed by the seal member 4.
However, with the above-described conventional assembling structure, when the projection 3 of the connector 2 is inserted into the housing 1, there is a possibility that an end of the opening of the housing 1 can rub against the seal member 4 or is caught by the same. Accordingly, there has been the risk that the seal member 4 becomes damaged or dislocated, and the reliability of the seal declines. Further, since the pressing force of the seal member 4 with respect to the housing 1 and the connector 2 is mainly dependent upon the dimensions of the outer periphery of the projection 3 of the connector 2, the variation of the sealing performance has been large.
In view of the above-described circumstances, an object of the invention is to provide a structure for assembling a housing and a connector which has small variations and is capable of maintaining high sealing performance without causing damage to the seal member and without the occurrence of dislocation.
In the present invention, there is provided a structure for assembling a housing and a connector in which a connector is inserted into an interior of a housing, and a fitting surface of the connector adapted to be connected to a mating connector and oriented in a direction perpendicular to an inserting direction projects outside the housing through an opening formed in the housing, characterized in that an inclined wall which is inclined with respect to the inserting direction of the connector is provided on an inner surface of the housing, that an annular inclined flange which opposes the inclined wall when the connector is assembled to the housing is provided on an outer peripheral side of the fitting surface of the connector, that a seal member continuing along a periphery of the opening is interposed between the inclined wall and the inclined flange, and that the seal member can be freely pressed between the inclined wall and the inclined flange by pressing the connector in the inserting direction and fixing the connector to the housing.
In this assembling structure, when the connector is inserted into the interior of the housing along a fixed inserting direction, the inclined flange of the connector approaches the inclined wall on the inner surface of the housing, and the seal member is clamped between the inclined wall and the inclined flange. Then, as the connector is fixed to the housing while being pressed in the inserting direction, the inclined wall and the inclined flange are opposed to each other with a fixed interval therebetween, with the result that the seal member is clamped between the inclined wall and the inclined flange with a fixed force.
In this state, the fitting surface of the connector which is oriented in the direction perpendicular to the inserting direction projects outside the housing through the opening provided in the inclined wall of the housing, so that the mating connector can be fitted to the fitting surface. Moreover, since the seal member which continues along the periphery of the opening is present around the opening in the state of being clamped between the inclined wall and inclined flange, the gap between the connector and the housing is sealed by this seal member, so that the interior of the housing is maintained as a waterproof space.
In this case, since the inclined wall and the inclined flange approach each other and clamp the seal member by their opposing surfaces by moving the connector in the inserting direction, it is possible to prevent the seal member from being rubbed or caught by the end of the opening of the housing as experienced with the conventional assembling structure, so that it is possible to prevent the seal member from becoming damaged or dislocated. In addition, since pressure contact force is applied to the seal member by the face-to-face approach, the seal surface can be stably held by the fastening force of the screws at the time of fixing the connector to the housing. Accordingly, it is possible to demonstrate highly reliably sealing performance which is free of variations.
Additionally in the present invention, the above structure for assembling a housing and a connector is further characterized in that the connector is fixed to a substrate extending in a direction of a plane perpendicular to the connector inserting direction, and the seal member can be freely pressed between the inclined wall and the inclined flange through a fastening operation at a time when the substrate is fastened to the housing by screws.
With this assembling structure, by merely effecting the usual operation of fixing the substrate with the connector mounted thereon to the housing, the connector can be assembled to the housing while maintaining predetermined sealing performance.